Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) was one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday after headlines dashed hopes among some investors about a return bid from BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP, ASX:BHP).
Former suitor BHP, which was rebuffed in its £34 billion bid in the spring, says it has "moved on" to focus on other growth opportunities.
As the six month deadline preventing a return bid comes to an end, the Aussie-listed giant's chair Ken MacKenzie told shareholders at the annual meeting that the board had "thought there was an opportunity here to create something unique and special, a bit of a sort of a one plus one equals three opportunity".
He acknowledged that Anglo American shareholders "had a different view, and they thought there was more value in the plan that their management wanted to execute. And so they moved on. And quite frankly, so have we."